I caught as many gardens as I could during the daylight hours on my first day in Kyoto. Eager to see more, I found a temple that was open at night – the Kiyomizu-dera. Kiyomizu means clear or pure water. The Kiyomizu-dera temple takes its name from Otowa waterfall. The water has been channeled into […]
Excursions
Excursion posts feature visits to bonsai gardens in the U.S. and in Japan, visits to the Kyoto's Most Renown Gardens, and trips into the mountains to see junipers and pines in their natural setting.
Daitoku-ji
Daitoku-ji is a Kyoto temple dating from the early 14th century. Over time, 22 sub-temples have been added to the complex making the 56 acres that comprise the grounds a super destination for enjoying Japanese gardens. A number of Daitoku-ji’s gardens are only open a few weeks each year – others are usually open to […]
Kinkaku – the Golden Pavilion
Upon telling friends that I was heading to Kyoto, I received a lot of suggestions about which gardens warranted a visit. “Kinkaku-ji,” “The Gold Temple,” or “The Golden Pavilion” came up a lot. Common sentiment: “Yeah, a lot of people go there and it’s really busy, but it’s worth it.” Having now visited, I wholeheartedly […]
Ryoan-ji gardens
Kyoto’s Ryoan-ji is best known for its stone garden – a rectangular plot roughly 25 meters by 10 meters featuring several clusters of stones set in a sea of white sand. There is a total of 15 stones, but only 14 are visible from any given vantage point. The stone garden was built near the […]
Ninna-ji Temple
Let’s go to Kyoto! I thought I’d start out the new year with a recap of my visit to some of Kyoto’s fantastic gardens. My first stop was Ninna-ji Temple. Ninna-ji dates to the 9th century making it one of the older temples in a city full of old temples. Around a dozen buildings from […]